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Of course, since this IS actually the best thing the autopilot can do for its own survival and the survival of others of its own kind - since any failure that can actually be blamed directly on it might result in the humans deciding to build different autopiloting devices or just do away with them altogether - then this could be taken as a sign that the AI works really, really well.;)

You're half right. The other half being to prove you have the self-discipline to do WORK even when it isn't enjoyable. My experience with school was similar to Lumpy's, except that teachers let me float because they knew I knew the material even if I wasn't doing the work. (Mainly from the fact that I was tutoring the other students.) Looking back, the teacher I have the most respect for is the one who tried to teach me the lesson I needed most - by refusing to play along and failing my sorry ass. Work matters at least as much as your knowledge.

The scariest part of this to me is that Lumpy has a lower UID than my 39 year old self, which probably means he is older - and still hasn't learned that lesson, however smart he is.

nadirajhn (3781887) writes "The Oscar-winning actor and stand-up comedian Robin Williams, whose variety extended from manic mimicry to understated character portrayals, was located dead in his California dwelling on Monday.

In a statement, the nearby sheriff’s office mentioned that it was treating the death of the 63-year-old star as a suspected suicide.

His wife, Susan Schneider, confirmed the news in a statement released by way of the actor’s publicist. “This morning I lost my husband and most effective friend, although the planet lost a single of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. I am utterly heartbroken,” she stated.

Williams was final noticed alive at the property that he shared with Schneider in Tiburon, north of San Francisco, at about 10pm on Sunday evening, the Marin County sheriff’s workplace said.

His representative, Mara Buxbaum, mentioned in a statement that he had lately been “battling serious depression” and added: “This is a tragic and sudden loss. The household respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve for the duration of this very tricky time.”

Williams, who was born in Chicago, brought a hyper-kinetic power to screen roles and stand-up comedy. He rose to fame in the tv series Mork and Mindy, which ran from 1978 to 1982, in which he played an alien who arrived on earth in an egg-shaped spacecraft, sent from the planet Ork to observe human life.

He knowledgeable a string of film successes, with Excellent Morning, Vietnam in 1987, Dead Poets Society in 1989, Awakenings in 1990, and the Fisher King and Hook in 1991. The nearly unbroken line of accomplishment continued with Aladdin in 1992 and Mrs Doubtfire, a 1993 comedy about a divorced father who impersonates a Scottish nanny to be closer to his young children.

He won a finest supporting actor Oscar for Very good Will Hunting in 1998.

A sequel to Mrs Doubtfire had been announced and it was rumoured that filming would start this year.

In her statement, Schneider mentioned: “As he is remembered, it is our hope the concentrate will not be on Robin’s death, but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions.”

The White Home released a statement by Barack Obama, who said: “Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and almost everything in in between. But he was a single of a type. He arrived in our lives as an alien – but he ended up touching every single element of the human spirit.”

Officers from the Marin county sheriff’s division responded to a 911 call received from Williams’s residence at about 11.55am regional time. “The sheriff’s office, as nicely as the Tiburon fire department and southern Marin fire protection district had been dispatched to the incident with emergency personnel arriving on scene at 12pm,” the division mentioned. “The male subject, pronounced deceased at 12.02 pm has been identified as Robin McLaurin Williams, a 63-year-old resident of unincorporated Tiburon, California.”

The statement mentioned the coroner suspected the death to be a “suicide due to asphyxia” and that a comprehensive investigation would be completed just before a final determination was made. “A forensic examination is currently scheduled for August 12, 2014 with subsequent toxicology testing to be performed.”

Williams had openly talked about his battles with alcohol and cocaine in the early 1980s, his years of sobriety, and relapse in 2006. He appeared to have recovered but final month he returned to rehab – the Hazelden Addiction Therapy Center close to Lindstrom, Minnesota.

His representative played down the news at the time, telling TMZ: “After operating back-to-back projects, Robin is just taking the chance to fine-tune and focus on his continued commitment, of which he remains really proud.”

In a Guardian interview in 2010, he spoke about a relapse into alcoholism, his rehabilitation and his open-heart surgery.

“Oh, God, you come across yourself finding emotional. It breaks by means of your barrier, you have actually cracked the armour. And you’ve got no decision, it actually breaks you open. And you really feel really mortal,” he mentioned.

Asked if he felt happier, Williams replied: “I believe so. And not afraid to be unhappy. That’s OK also. And then you can be like, all is excellent. And that is the issue, that is the present.”

Williams’ extraordinary acting range, as well as his activities outdoors of the entertainment sector, were remembered in tributes from fellow performers and film industry figures.

Steven Spielberg, who directed Hook, told Entertainment Weekly: “Robin was a lightning storm of comic genius and our laughter was the thunder that sustained him. He was a pal and I can not believe he’s gone.”

Fellow comic Steve Martin stated on Twitter: “I could not be much more stunned by the loss of Robin Williams, mensch, terrific talent, acting partner, genuine soul”.

I could not be a lot more stunned by the loss of Robin Williams, mensch, terrific talent, acting companion, genuine soul.

The British actor and stand-up star, Eddie Izzard, tweeted: “Robin Williams has died and I am extremely sad. From each and every comedian here at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, we salute him & we say goodbye.”

Mara Wilson, who acted with Williams in Mrs Doubtfire, and who has develop into a prolific writer and user of social media, wrote: “Very sad, extremely upset, incredibly glad I did not have to hear about this although Twitter. Probably going to be taking some time off it for a although.”

Really sad, really upset, pretty glad I did not have to hear about this even though Twitter. Likely going to be taking some time off it for a when.

In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 08457 90 90 90. In Australia, the crisis assistance service Lifeline is on 13 11 14"Link to Original Source

Maybe travel at the speeds necessary to reach other star systems is impossible, and there ARE a TON of civilizations out there. But, they're all talking on some type of communication form - like Quantum CB or something - that we haven't discovered quite yet.

One day we will, and we won't make first contact with ONE species that day. We'll meet millions.

I keep seeing people saying that it is cheaper and safer to send automated missions and that they can do everything a human can do and more in the way of research - that a human would add nothing to knowledge that can't be gathered by machine.

This isn't true. An automaton cannot tell us what it is like to be a human on Mars. Admittedly, some might find that insufficient - but I do not.

(Also, the science and technology we will develop HERE to make a human *able* to stand THERE and tell us that is nothing to sneeze at, either.)

I don't despise a salesperson for doing their job. Their motive is clear - to make a sale and profit - and based on that motive, "buyer beware" seems fairly obvious. Organized religions pretends they *aren't* trying to SELL something when most of them certainly are, and that makes them worse than Whole Foods and most used car salespeople, too.

Human teeth show every sign of being shaped, at least in part, to consume insects, and we possibly developed long fingers to dig them out of hiding places, too. I'm not religious, but sometimes I can't help but think of a monkey-like God looking down on all of mankind's problems with famine and hunger and yelling, "For My sake, mankind, I gave you the cockroach! An unlimited food source - you can't wipe the little bastards out if you try!"

"As people have already pointed out, the parents who complain about violent video games are not the same parents as those buying it."

Actually, I'm not totally certain of this. My step-sister and her husband are the sort of people who would complain about this, and I've seen their kids playing GTA4 at their house. Hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance are no problem for a certain portion of our population, unfortunately.

"Logically, freedom IS the right of all sentient species."
A temporal accident involving instant coffee and a microwave oven resulted in the merging of the father of Vulcan philosophy and the heroic leader of the Autobots. A logician who turns into a kick ass red semi.:)